My letter to Gamasutra- UGH!
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regarding 3Dfx (TDFX). First, Intel is not their big competitor, neither is Whitney. These are mediocre graphics
chips, the kind of part that somebody gets stuck with on an otherwise fine computer. Then they buy a retail
add-in-board for serious 3D. This of course would likely be TDFX, as they lead the retail boards.
Your statement about the earnings release "...we don't want anyone to be surprised by how bad we have actually
done." is a little harsh. We don't have a clue "how bad" they have done. Though it is clear that they didn't sell as
many chips as expected, boards are still moving. And until the numbers are out, we will not know how much of
the loss is due to increased spending on advertising, R&D, etc. The real problem has been that chips have been
purchased in large bunches over 2 quarters- not much revenue smoothing going on. Overall they have done very well and made a lot of money off of V2.
So, you think that the graphics market can chew TDFX up and spit them out? I don't think so. Their name is
strong, they are known for quality products, they have good retail distribution and evidently several large OEM
deals coming. And don't forget that they have more cash than ANY graphics player out there (aside from Intel).
They earn WAY more (EPS) than the number one player, ATI.
This is just stupid: "Make Direct3D for one company's hardware, and it would probably kick Glide's butt." Your
point? Does anybody make D3D SPECIFICALLY for anybody else's hardware? Do some developers
SPECIFICALLY make Glide drivers?
Sorry, mister. I hate being rude, but WTF is with the following: "Voodoo has been great, but everyone else is
catching up, and will surpass it. The money is now being put into the 1999 chipsets. " Who "will" surpass it? Are
you referring to the "next-gen" chips which are about as fast as our "last-gen" chips? Or are you the ONLY one
that TDFX has shown their roadmap to? Perhaps you are referring to the awesome Bit-Boys (Oiy!) design. Or
you have perhaps traveled to the future?
JeffLins |
